The founder of Audio Advice, Leon Shaw, started to become curious about sound quality after long listening sessions in his dorm room. Today, nearly 40 years later, Audio Advice continues to be run by its original founder and resident audiophile.

The current issue (October 2010) of Home Theater magazine is like a walking advertisement for some of the high performance products that we carry. When I read more mass market oriented magazines, I often lament that very few high-end products are written up as frequently as they are in some more specialized ones. However, this issue of Home Theater is very different. They have assembled a group of reviews of some of the best home theater equipment made. Of the handful of products that they could have chosen in each category, they ended up with the same top of the line products that we carry and virtually identical to the ones that I put in my own theater. (The Digital Projection Titan review is the only one mentioned that's online right now, but you can come by Audio Advice and pick up a copy of the issue while our supplies last.)

First, it has a great write-up on the Classé CT-SSP surround sound processor and the Classé CT-5300 five channel amplifier.

I've lived with both of these pieces over the past year and they deliver incredible audio performance just as the review describes. Check the article out if you're thinking of building a high performance theater or upgrading your current one.

To keep it going, the cover article is on the new Kaleidescape Blu-ray 1U Media Server and M500 Player—I’ve been testing them at my home and once the Blu-ray changer is available, this is going to be a home run for serious home theaters that want high quality Blu-ray. For anyone who likes concerts, most every song in a concert is now actually book marked in the Kaleidescape so you can go straight to the song without navigating the disc (with uncompressed Blu-ray sound, concert videos have a quality even better than CD).

Not to be left out, the B&W 805 Diamond Series Speaker system is reviewed with perfect scores across the board. If you could not have guessed it already, my speakers are all B&W as well. (Though I have the CT series, which is specifically designed just for theaters and for building into custom situations.)

Finally, there is a review of Peachtree’s iDecco (which is partially designed by one of Peachtree’s owners here in the Triangle). If you are looking for a great price/performance product for playing your digital music, this is it. At $999, this is the only integrated amplifier with an Apple-approved pure digital connection to the iPod.

If there is ever a time to read Home Theater magazine cover to cover, this is it.